Virgin territory for pro sports

No, Birmingham has proved that it doesn't want some third-class knockoff pro football team. Unfortunately, every SOB with a half-baked idea for a league tries to force a franchise on the city. If the NFL had put a franchise here 20-30 years ago, it would have worked. Now, the area has stagnated to the point that no Big 4 franchise would be viable here in my lifetime.

What I'd love to see this area do is put together a bid for a MLS franchise, and build it a nice 20-25k stadium somewhere over the mountain or in Shelby County, where people would actually want to travel after dark. It would be the only one in the Deep South, which would give it a wide area to draw from. It would be something Birmingham could claim as its own in the highest level league of a sport in America. It would avoid giving Atlanta another team to ignore in an overcrowded and hugely apathetic market.

But it will never happen, because the name Birmingham is radioactive. This state's only hope at big-time pro sports is to have Mobile generate off-the-charts growth in the next 50 years or so.